25-06 Ackley Improved velocities

Phil Rizzo said:

Koda, I've been down the fun road you are on as well. Looks great, and I know it feels good too.
IF velocity is important to you, there are powders that will get you more speed.
But H1000 is a very stable and very consistent performer that allows for longer barrel life as a bonus. Clean burning too.
You have a combo there that will over-achieve. Keep us posted!

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Being new to reloading powder selection has been this huge rabbit hole for me. Its another one of those learning points that can only be learned thru trial and error or from other handloaders which is all over the place on the web forums. I don't have a mentor for either reloading or custom barrel rifle choices so all of this is the huge leap of faith I took after spending hours and hours reading and posting and asking questions on forums and discerning the experienced shooters from the rest... Your advice here confirms what Im learning building my confidence, thank you for this.
So just a few weeks ago I began my quest to start off with "the best" powder for this project and it came down to H1000 or N570. I hear I can get some incredible velocity with the N570 but the trade off is faster throat wear/barrel life. I read H1000 was super stable temp wise (not certain how much that matters but I will be using this rifle eventually for an August pronghorn hunt) and easy on the barrel so I chose that knowing I might not get those super impressive bragging rights velocity but Im ok with that.

When I run my load data thru a ballistic calculator Im getting more velocity and energy out to 600yds than my friends 7RM using a 130gn bullet. I cant complain with H1000.

Muddyboots said:

I tried Rem 9 1/2 mag primer in .270Win with 117HH at 3470 (topped over 3500) and its my most accurate load hands down in a 55 yr old Savage 110C with new 24" Shaw barrel that sent me down rabbit hole about 7 years ago. 3 builds later!.

The Rem mag primer is bottom end of mag primer spectrum and seemed to give that little boost it needed. ES SD below 10. They seem to be more available too.

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I got sum here the other week. Couldn't find any 215. I splite a brick with my brother. I generally don't use mag primers anyway.

Koda_ said:

My experiences with the old standard 25-06 was that it shot thru a deer end to end. Literally did that on a full frontal pronghorn shot I took years ago at 300yds with a typical soft point bullet. Pile drived some of the spine ruining some of the backstrap.
Im banking on the Hammers opening up and shedding their petals, they have a solid reputation for that. I have a sample pack of 117gn Absolute Hammers I will test to appease my curiosity how fast I can get a Hammer to fly but time is running out before deer season in a few weeks so that will be on hold.

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The Hammer 127 is what I'd run if I were dead set on taking a cape buffalo with a 25-06. If a normal cup and core shoots through animals end to end then why chose a bullet that has even more penetration?

To me the idea of a 25-06 is to kill with speed not penetration. So, I want the speed and a bullet that will carry the speed as far as possible. The Apex gives more speed and carries it farther. An additional 300 fps is way more than AI over standard. It's more like the 257 Roy over standard.

I'd say the standard 25-06 shooting the Apex 108 is ballistically every bit the equal of the 257 Weatherby shooting the Hammer 127.

What velocity are you getting with the Apex and what twist are you using Fruitnut?

fruitnut said:

The Hammer 127 is what I'd run if I were dead set on taking a cape buffalo with a 25-06. If a normal cup and core shoots through animals end to end then why chose a bullet that has even more penetration?

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I dont know that Hammers have more penetration than other bullets?. Petal shedding happens quickly and most bullets pass thru deer size game.
I will also be using this rifle to hunt elk with, the 127HHT is a great choice for an all around bullet. Im not worried about pass thrus on deer, the Hammer will expand.

I haven't shot that Apex. I'm shooting the 102 in a 6.5 SAUM with 8 twist at 3500 fps, a mild load. I might shoot the Apex 123 if I had a 7 twist and wanted to shoot past 500 yards.

The Hammers will expand and that 127 will kill. I'd use it on elk. Any monometal that sheds it's nose will penetrate like a solid. Hammers are solids after shedding the nose. Other monometals that retain all their mass don't penetrate as far because a 25 caliber turns into a 50 caliber after expanding. The Hammer is a 25 caliber solid with some petals that rip off and do some damage.

A flat nosed solid maximizes penetration in either a pistol for bear protection or a rifle for dangerous game. The Hammer turns into a flat nosed solid after shedding it's petals.

I have a .25/06 with 26" match grade #5 contour, SS fluted, 1-10" twist barrel.

I easily break 3500fps with 100gn TTSX's and 3200fps with 120gn Partitions. The 117gn Hornady's go a little faster around the 3250fps mark.

The accuracy is exceptional and very sub MOA with best groups less than half that. When I mounted a 6.5- 20 Leupold, best groups were .2 - .5".

Best powders were Win 760 for the 100's and Rel 26 for the 120's though H1000 and Retumbo generated everything you want from the heavier bullets.

Frank in the Laurels said:

...for 50-100 fps more velocity over the standard cartridge it's not worth the wear and tear on your barrel in my opinion, no animal will ever be able to tell tge difference..

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Why do you only believe it is a 50 to 100 ft./s over a standard cartridge?
As an example, See pics of load data from Hodgdon for a 257 Roberts…criteria is the same except one is AI. I had a 257 Roberts AI, but sold it because of Brass availability. I was able to get pretty close to this velocity with a 24 inch barrel.

I currently have a 22-243 AI, 243 AI, 25-06 AI, 260 AI, 6.5X55 AI, 7–08 AI, 7X55 AI, 280 AI, 30–06 AI…all get more than 150fps over standard cartridge.

As soon as I finish my feeding, I'm shooting 150 rounds of 25-06 with a 100 Sierra SBT, with 51g of IMR 4350 w/ a tight interference fit to get a good snap for the new shoulder/neck forming. H2o will be measured before and after then I will load again and see the velocity difference and report back.

For the heavy bullet selection we have today, that extra HP is welcomed.!
Some things have to be experienced to be appreciated.
Like performance.!

Frank in the Laurels said:

...for 50-100 fps more velocity over the standard cartridge it's not worth the wear and tear on your barrel in my opinion, no animal will ever be able to tell tge difference..

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In most calibers a modest additional 100fps can often extend the bullets terminal velocity range another 100yds.

Koda_ said:

In most calibers a modest additional 100fps can often extend the bullets terminal velocity range another 100yds.

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..at the cost of how much wear & tear in the barrel for absolutely no gain in my opinion to any animals vitals...

Koda_ said:

In most calibers a modest additional 100fps can often extend the bullets terminal velocity range another 100yds.

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Both true, but one does not invalidate the other......

Frank in the Laurels said:

..at the cost of how much wear & tear in the barrel for absolutely no gain in my opinion to any animals vitals...

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100fps isnt going to significantly wear out your barrel.

I think you might be overlooking the other half of this subject, this isnt just an ackley improved rifle to gain a "measily" 100fps, the entire build was also customized to add versatility in bullet weights to use in the same caliber especially higher BC bullets. Theres a lot more going on here than just an extra 100fps.